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The Hollywood "sex comedy"--a feature-length film in which sex motivates the storyline and the laughs are triggered by sexual situations--came into its own with the 1953 release of the once-controversial The Moon Is Blue. That film received very positive critical and audience response despite being denied a seal of approval from the Production Code Administration and receiving a "Condemned" rating from the Legion of Decency. (These two formidable watchdog agencies would continue to be challenged--and audiences would continue to be convulsed--by the abundance of sex comedies still to come.) The present informal survey focuses on 25 selected examples of the genre, released between 1953 and 1964. Along with such familiar works as The Seven Year Itch, The Tender Trap, Pillow Talk and Kiss Me, Stupid, several lesser-known sex comedies like I Married a Woman, The Tunnel of Love, Happy Anniversary and Period of Adjustment are documented, analyzed and placed in context with their times. Some are masterpieces, others mildly amusing and a few downright awful, but all are fascinating artifacts of a bygone era in popular entertainment.
One day while Alex watched and wished, two butterflies landed on her shirt just at her shoulder and fluttered their wings. For a few moments, she held her breath, until they both lifted into the air. "Where are they going?" she wondered. And thus begins her adventure! As Alex follows the path of the two butterflies, she discovers she just might have the courage and determination it takes to achieve anything she can imagine. Through a series of fascinating encounters, a little girl learns the power of a positive mindset and perseverance when faced with challenges. I wrote the children's book Alex and the Butterflies and Hannah wrote the song 'I Can Do Big Things', to help children triumph over perceived limitations, so their accomplishments can be as big as their dreams.
In the 1950s, television pushed filmmakers toward such processes as CinemaScope and the increasing use of color. Serials and B Westerns, two staples since the silent era, were no longer money-makers and vanished, while the new breed of producers began to challenge the censorship code, bringing an ever-increasing amount of more explicit movies to theaters. From Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (Paramount, 1952) to Zombies of Mora Tau (Columbia, 1957), this comprehensive work provides full filmographic data on 3,078 American films of the 1950s. Each entry includes full cast and credits, songs, running time, alternate titles and availability on video. The entries conclude with a brief plot description. An appendix lists the award winning films from the decade.
The year's releases in review, with necrologies and brief articles.
Hello, Dolly!, Lawrence of Arabia, Sound of Music--200+ more. Enormous detail on CinemaScope, VistaVision, Cinerama, Todd-AO, Panavision, CinemaScope-55, Technirama, Thrillarama, Aromatama, Smell-O-Vision, stereophonic and special sound processes, even Soviet 70mm! Huge filmography, exhaustive credits. Much data never before published.
Ralston Heights is a work of historical fiction based on the history of Ralstonism, a social movement in 19th century US. which claimed about 800,000 followers. The story is told by a young man who lived near the infamous castle and the events that followed after he discovered that the property adjacent to his home was once a sanctuary for a bigoted cult of white supremacists who supposedly could control the minds of others.
The book stars a young girl named Hannah who is in search of a career for her school's upcoming Career Day. Each time she chooses a career, she becomes discouraged because her chosen careers seem to be only for boys. With the help of her mother, a structural engineer, she learns she can do anything despite her gender.